TheWolverine - No. 2 Michigan Basketball Falls To No. 4 Illinois, 76-53

Michigan Wolverines basketball dropped just its second game of the season Tuesday night at home, with Illinois coming out victorious by a final score of 76-53.

Michigan sophomore wing Franz Wagner got the scoring going on the Wolverines' first possession, knocking down a short jumper from the right baseline.

In the Illini's first five possessions, they missed two shots — with both attempts coming from sophomore center Kofi Cockburn — and turned it over three times.

Illinois freshman guard Andre Curbelo tied things up with a layup at 2-2 with 16:30 to go. That was the score at the under-16 media timeout at the 15:43 mark, with both teams starting off cold. Michigan made just one of its first six attempts and Illinois was 1-of-7.

Illinois senior guard Da'Monte Williams then broke the tie by nailing a three over Michigan's zone defense with the shot clock winding down at 15:37, off an assist from Curbelo.

Michigan senior forward Isaiah Livers scored five-straight points around the 14-minute mark to give the Wolverines a 7-5 edge, nailing a pull-up mid-range jumper before draining a three in transition after a Wagner block on the other end.

The Maize and Blue called a timeout with 10:24 remaining in the half, with the score knotted up at 10-10. Curbelo led all scorers at that time with seven points, while Livers paced Michigan with five. It was a defensive battle early, with both teams combining for 8-of-32 shooting to start.

Illinois went on a 9-2 run from there, with Curbelo scoring four more points during that stretch, which was capped off by a freshman guard Adam Miller three-pointer off an assist from redshirt junior guard/forward Jacob Grandison. The Illini had hit four of their last five shot attempts at that point. Howard called his second timeout of the game at the 7:11 mark with his squad down 19-12.

Finally, Dickinson got on the board at the 6:19 mark to make it 19-14, Illinois. But on the other end, just one minute later, he committed his second foul on a Cockburn and-one to make it 21-14, and was forced to sit for the rest of the half.

The Wolverines went on a mini 4-0 run with Dickinson on the bench, behind a jumper by senior guard Chaundee Brown and a nifty post move and finish by fifth-year senior forward Austin Davis. The Illini led, 21-18, at the media timeout with 3:58 until the break.

Illinois scored a quick four points out of the timeout and extended the lead out to 25-18, and then made it 29-20 — the largest lead of the night — at 2:09 after a Cockburn hit from the post.

A senior guard Trent Frazier long two with 37 seconds to go gave Illinois its largest lead of the night, 33-22, which was the score at halftime.

Michigan shot just 9-of-28 (32 percent) at the break, while Illinois was 13-of-32 (41 percent). Curbelo led all scorers with 11 points and was the only player in double-figures. Illinois had seven offensive rebounds in the half that led to 10 second-chance points.